


Meetings: Shepard

by PerseusHuntress



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 13:41:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16833733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerseusHuntress/pseuds/PerseusHuntress
Summary: prompt: Clara meeting Garrus for the first time





	Meetings: Shepard

Shepard has only been on the Presidium two times, the circumstances of those visits have not been happy ones.

The first time she arrived with Anderson, still dazed and confused from the medication, shunted through corridors and elevators and brought before the Council to deliver a first hand account of battle of Elysium. Whilst the Baterians were not a council race, the proximity of the Petra Nebula to the seat of the council however aroused much more scrutiny from the Citadel Council than was usual devoted whenever humanity was involved.

The second time the circumstances were marginally better but she ended the night in the arms of a C-Sec detective who’s name she never even asked. Needless to say between silken sheets and Turian liquor, Shepard’s attention was wholly devoted to matters other than sightseeing and touristic pursuits.

Marking today’s visit the first official one, that is to say, the first visit Shepard has had whilst in full command of her senses, undisturbed by pain, interrogations and hormones. She only wished the circumstances were better, but you can’t have everything in life. As the Normandy docked Williams and Alenko made the obligatory noises of wonder at the sheer size of the Citadel station, the wings of which spanned unfathomable against the backdrop of glittering stars. The beauty of the station was not lost of Shepard, but her mind was so entirely preoccupied with rogue Spectres and the deceased ones that she was unable to fully comprehend the sheer magnificence of the seat of the Council.

“We must speak to the Council, Shepard. Convince them that Saren has gone rouge. Without their support it will be very difficult to get him discharged and bring him to justice” Anderson spoke with an even voice, but his eyes betrayed a rage previously unseen by the Commander.

“I expect it won’t be easy, politicians would rather face a Thresher Maw than admit their own mistakes. Sometimes I think it maybe worth them trying” Shepard huffed in disdain.

“Behave yourself XO.” Anderson spoke sternly “This goes beyond your personal feelings on the matter. Those visions may just be that, visions, but I’d rather take no chances on the matter”

“Sir” Shepard saluted. The Normandy was a pleasant frigate to serve on, Anderson inspired a kind of loyalty seldom seen even in the most veteran of crews, and in return he run the ship on trust, so much so that it was easy to forget that he was in fact a superior officer. Joker tended to take full advantage of that one.

And so Shepard disembarked the Normandy flanked by Chief Ashley Williams and Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. They were briefed by the Human Ambassador Udina, an unpleasant man, precisely the kind of politician that made Shepard’s hackles rise. Ambitious and cold, he was the type to think of his own position first and the good of his people last. They were instructed to head directly to the Citadel Tower and attend the meeting arranged by Udina.

Kaidan walked with his mouth agape, watching the multitude of species milling around the blindingly sleek Presidium, whilst Ashley adopted a defensive position, feigning aloofness whilst scanning every face for signs of danger. Shepard on the other hand just wanted to get it all over and done with, and marched through the streets with determination.

They reached the Tower without incident, stopping briefly a few times on the way for Kaiden to admire his surroundings, whilst Ashely tugged at him to move on. As they ascended the lift which for some unknowable reason was playing the most horrific elevator music, they discussed all they witnessed.

“Skipper, what are we going to say to them?” Ashely asked with a concerned look.

“The truth?” Shepard offered with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Is that wise?” Kaidan was sceptical.

“Probably not” Shepard smiled in answer “I don’t exactly expect them to believe me, ‘Dear Council people I have come to tell you that I have had visions of Galactic destruction, we should probably do something about this… oh and one of your best operatives has entirely lost the plot, probably should look into that one too’. But it would be good if they didn’t get me sectioned for this and throw away the key.”

Ashely laughed “Anderson will back you up, he is a decorated hero, known even here, they will have to believe you”

“I hope you are right Chief” Shepard smiled.

“Saren is hiding something, give me more time! Stall them!” as the elevator doors opened a voice drifted towards them from the top of an impressive flight of stairs. The name of the rogue spectre made Shepard stop and listen. The speaker was turian, she didn’t have to see them to know, the distinct warble of the subharmonics were unmistakable. Shepard’s dealings with the turians were negligible, a couple of runs in in the field and a few times on those woeful visits to the Citadel. The Turians were a proud militaristic race, hierarchical to the point of absurdity, reminiscent of the ancient human civilisations, but the First Contact War left deep seated scars on the human imagination, leading to tense relation between the two people.

‘We can’t stall the council, don’t be ridiculous!” another turian answered, that voice sounded weary and harassed. Superior officer if Shepard had to guess.

Kaidan looked at Shepard with a raised eyebrow “Shall we take a look?”

“Try and stop me” Shepard smirked back. Whoever that turian was, he could have valuable information pertaining their mark. It was an opportunity she was not willing to pass, the council could wait a little longer.

They climbed the stairs and were greeted by the sight of two C-Sec officers in a mids of a heated debate. The first was impossibly tall, even by turian standards, he bristled with frustration, subharmonics betraying the raging anger coursing through him. The second turian, evidently his senior judging by his uniform, leaning back on one leg, projecting authority in the face of the younger turians irritation.

‘“Your investigation is over Garrus.” the senior officer pronounced with an air of finality, he turned on his heel and marched away.

The remaining turian’s hands were balled into fists, as he glared at his superior’s retreat. Shepard smiled at herself, oh you are going to get bollocked for that one little turian, you do not talk to a superior that way, look at you, you are steaming. The turian’s attention focused on the ten kind of murder he was about to commit allowed Shepard to examine the alien more closely. He really was tall, 7 foot something by her estimation, a mountain of seething rage. His clan markings bright blue against his pale skin were of a peculiar design, but what was more interesting was the visor he wore, it closely resembled that of the Sentry Interface but covered only one of his eyes. Custom made? she wondered to herself.

“Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the investigation into Saren” the turian turned to Shepard startling her out of her examination. His gaze was piercing, eyes zeroed in on her, calculating, measuring. It made Shepard’s hair stand on end. Something primal stirred in her, she wanted to run as far away as possible from those eyes. Shepard knew that feeling well it saved her on the field countless times, the fight or flight instinct was powerful, and when faced with the scrutiny of the turian, hers went into over drive. On the surface she just looked on lazily, knowing full well that the feeling was an evolutionary kick back at the turian predatory origins.

“I gathered that one from the little scene” Shepard went with belligerence to hide her instinct.

The turian blinked in confusion. All tension flooded out of him, all sharpness of the moment before melting away, making him look much softer, younger even than he perhaps was.

Shepard smiled, the agitation of being called out disarmed Vakarian entirely, his posture sagged a little, and his once pricing eyes turned befuddled. He blinked a few more times, and Shepard noticed that his eyes were a brilliant blue of incredible pigmentation, something that passed her by just moments before.

“Well, I…” he trailed off in embarrassment.

“Come across anything we should know?” Shepard crossed here arms with mock impatience, this one was fun to unsettle, the look he got on his face was oddly endearing.

“Saren’s a Spectre, most of his activities are classified. I couldn’t find anything solid” Vakarian shook his head in defeat. “But I know he is up to something. Like you human say I feel it in my gut”

“Yeah okay Marlow, that was wildly unhelpful. You have fun with that” Ashley cut in with irritation.

Vakarian’s eyes widened in confusion, he looked at Shepard for some kind of explanation.

Shepard snorted “She is into literature, don’t worry about it”

The Turian shook his head to dislodge the surreal moment. “Well good luck Shepard, maybe they will listen to you”

Of course they didn’t listen. They never listen. They did make her a Spectre however, fight fire with fire, did that ever work? Commander Shepard First Human Spectre, it did have a nice ring to it, even if she did not necessarily appreciate all the caveats that went along with it.

The first order of the day was to find enough evidence to support their claim that Saren has indeed gone rouge, Anderson instructed to proceed with caution, if the council got wind that the first Human Spectre was defying their orders within the first twenty minutes of gaining the rank, upset would be a major understatement. She was to ask around, find some leads, quietly.

“What now Shepard?” Ashely asked.

“Why don’t we find that turian? The one that led the investigation, I doubt he has found nothing, he doesn’t seem the type. He could help us” Kaiden proposed.

“Not a bad shout” Shepard agreed.

Shepard was sure that a shoot out in the Citadel Wards was exactly the opposite of what Anderson implied when he told her to be cautious. A tediously series of events found Shepard walking into a Med Clinic on the wards, only to find a terrified doctor surrounded by unholstered guns.

“I didn’t tell anyone! I swear!” the woman was terrified, her voice hysterical.

“That was smart doc, now when Garrus comes around you stay smart.” the man was facing away from the door, he was thuggish and the expression of smugness in his voice did not endear him to Shepard from the get go.

He caught the sound of the open door and twisted round to see the trespassers, Shepard and her team.

Instinct kicked in and the Commaner drew her gun in a flash “Let her go” her voice rang with authority.

In that moment a shadow sprang up from the near cabinet, the turian unfolded in one smooth movement, gracefully moving into view. He nailed the thug precisely between the eyes without a moment hesitation.

The other underlings did not stand around on ceremony and opened fire. Five minutes and four bodies later, a silence descended on the clinic punctuated only by the terrified sobs of the doctor.

Adrenaline was coursing through Shepard, this was not how she envisioned that particular meeting. Little did she know that this would set the scene for the way her entire career as Spectre would unfold.

She scanned the room for any remaining threats when her eyes fell on the turian. Vakarian was idly propping up a pillar of the clinic, one leg resting on the column, his expression self-satisfied.

“Perfect timing Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard.” Vakarian’s voice was full of victory, his eyes bright with satisfaction. That set Shepard off. The smug asshole just forced her to kill 4 people, it was not something she took lightly.

“What were you thinking?! You could have hit the hostage!” Shepard spat.

Vakarian was taken aback by the Commanders reply. “There wasn’t time to think! I just reacted! I… I didn’t mean to… Dr Michelle are you hurt?” he stumbled.

“I am fine” the doctor replied “But I have information, these thugs, they work for Fist, they wanted to shut me up about the Quarian, she has information on the Spectre.”

“It maybe time for us to pay a visit to Fist” Shepard raised an eyebrow. New lead.

‘This is your show Shepard, but I want to bring down Saren just as much as you do. I am coming with you.” Vakarian proclaimed, taking a stand. He crossed his arms and just stopped himself from stomping his foot to drive the point home. Shepard flashed an involuntary smile, cute, the turian has some fire in him, but he could do with some discipline, she’ll work on that one.

“You’ve made your point Vakarian. Welcome aboard” Shepard inclined her head in deference.

The turian balked “Just like that?”

“Just like that, now come on before I change my mind” Shepard smiled in earnest this time. He was going to be fun.

Only hours later Shepard found herself in a possession of one tiny firecracker of a quarian, one surly angry hulk of a krogan, a belligerent Turian and the captaincy of the Normandy to boot. Most people would space that out in a couple of months or so.

The Normandy came with the resignation of Anderson, which Shepard regretted deeply, the man deserved better. He assured her that it was for the best, and the Normandy couldn’t be in better hands. It all felt empty to Shepard, it was almost a bereavement, Anderson was not only her Commanding Officer, but he was also her friend, and this felt too much like a betrayal. 

It was the night cycle and the Normandy run on a skeleton crew of night-shifters, when Shepard made her way down into the storage deck of the ship. She was hoping to catch Ash, she needed to talk to someone, today has been difficult.

As the elevator doors slid open, Shepard was disappointed, the deck was empty, clearly her Chief was less perturbed by the events and went to sleep, like a normal human being.

“Commander?” an uncertain voice reached her.

“Vakarian?” Shepard was surprised to find the turian up at this hour. She watched as he rose elegantly from behind the Mako parked up on the deck.

“Can’t sleep?” Vakarian’s head tilted to the side as he examined her with curiosity.

“Not really no. Burden of Command and that” she sighed and smiled weakly as she made her way towards him. 

She still didn’t quite know what to make of him. He proved himself to be an extraordinary marksman, and even a good soldier, despite the first impressions of bristling aggression he followed her commands without question, made intelligent suggestions and even nailed a couple of mercs trying to get the better of her. She wanted to err on caution and keep her distance but he inexplicably grew on her, she couldn’t explain it, but she liked him. Besides teasing him was just too much fun, she kept throwing curved balls at him and watching bewilderment blossom in those blue eyes, his mandibles would twitch and he would stumble over his words.

“Want to talk about it Commander?” Vakarian offered.

“What?” Shepard shook her head taken aback. “Aren’t Turian’s meant to be all about orders and marching around? Talking doesn’t seem your species style?”

He laughed “I am a terrible turian Ma’am. I am afraid you’ve picked up the only rebel in the Hierarchy” his voice rung with subharmonics. A shiver run down Shepard, there was something strangely familiar about that low level purr that accompanied Ma’am. She shook it off.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing” she smiled.

“Talk to me in a couple of weeks” he chuckled “You’ll be wishing I marched around too. Sorry Commander, in advance. Now, what can I do?”

Another shiver run down Shepard, the passing thought suddenly materialised in a vivid flash back.

‘What can I do for you?’ he purred in her ear, as his fingers traced circles on the bare skin of her thighs The soft lighting sharpening his features, his eyes predatory, hungry.

She inhaled sharply.

“Are you okay?” Vakarian raised his eyebrow plates in surprised.

Shepard didn’t answer straight away, she was reeling, that couldn’t possibly be true she thought, could it? The doubt crept in. The guy on the Citadel was indeed a turian, and something in Vakarian stirred in her memories of that night, it was a blur fuelled entirely by her desire and whiskey, she didn’t even ask his name, it didn’t quite matter once they ripped each others clothes off.

“Have we met before?” she snapped her eyes onto Vakarian, boring into him, trying to remember.

Vakarian frowned “I very much doubt it, why would you ask?”

Shepard shook herself, “No reason, forget I asked”.

She continued to study the turian, but he seemed earnest enough. Although in all fairness she didn’t remember clearly, so why would he.

“I… yes, it would be good to talk about this” she stumbled in embarrassment.

Vakarian decided to take the high road, and let the episode slide.

“It’s not your fault Commander” he spoke before she could continue.

“What isn’t?” Shepard totally lost her train of thought, she found herself suddenly distracted by his arms crossed in front of him, they were graceful like the rest of him. He danced in a fight, not a single step out of rhythm with the gun fire, it was so out of synch with his hight, by all rights he should be ambling and clumsy, but he glided around with exceptional skill.

“Anderson’s resignation. There was nothing you could have done to stop it. The politicians are too bloody single minded, you could have refused the command but it would have ended badly for everyone involved.” Vakarian spoke with measured words.

Shepard closed her eyes for a moment, this was becoming a very strange conversation. Their roles entirely reversed, she was stumbling and he reassuring. And that memory kept irking her, lodging itself in her brain. 

“How did you know I was thinking of Anderson?” she finally spoke.

Vakarian smiled “I’ve been around soldiers all of my life, and damn good ones at that, it is not hard to guess. I was there when they gave you the Normandy, your protests were reason enough to assume” the gentle humming of his subharmonics was adding warmth to his words, and Shepard found herself oddly comforted, even when he didn’t say much at all.

They spoke for a long time after that. He told her about himself, his days in C-Sec and his distaste for authority, but only when it was wrong, he caught himself, making her laugh. She told him about her rapid promotions through the Alliance and her dislike of rash decisions, making him laugh in turn.

They parted ways deep into the night cycle, Shepard caught herself smiling as she walked back to her quarters.


End file.
